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Nintendo DS To Allow Free VoIP Calls
sm4kxd writes "Gamespot is reporting that the Nintendo DS will use "built-in wireless 802.11b networking capabilities to offer voice-over-IP chat--in effect, allowing gamers to use the DS to make free phone calls at wireless network hotspots." There's also mention of a headset, so you won't look ridiculous while doing so." The article doesn't have much more information, but the "in effect" seems important; this may only allow unit-to-unit conversations, not VoIP calls to the regular telephone network.
"There's also mention of a headset, so you won't look ridiculous while doing so."
I'm sorry - but is it just me that thinks the sight of someone talking to their Gameboy would look ridiculous? People using hands free kits already look like dopes IMO.
just another reason I want one of these babies! Nintendo rules! All my base are belong to the N!
By reading this sig, you are now pwnd.
I still need an online music store, place to get stock quotes, a free webmail account...and something else. I can't put my finger on what it is. Oh yeah, instant messenging through AOL. Alright, now we got a hot product.
Maybe they might use some standard to do it so you can make calls to any compliant device (including pstn via services)? But then again this is Nintendo, I don't imagine it's very likely!
Never underestimate the dark side of the Source
couldn't be worse then the first N-Gage
and not subject to regulatory agencies. very nice, and useful as well! just think about being able to communicate with a useful tool (and toy) and you're gaming or in range of someone elses public network!
not that I'll be buying one yet, however - this idea is very cool.
I think it's there to allow voice chat when playing against other people wirelessly, ala X-Box Live. I don't see what else it could be used for. Nice that the support is there. I'd like to see what else companies come up with for a way to use it, I certanly can't think of anything.
Now all that said, I fully expect some company to release a piece of software for the DS to let you use it as a phone. I just don't think it will be built in, or that the software will be released by the big N.
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
Seeing how many games of Nintendo are aimed at kids (ahem. CHIMPOKOMON!), is this a sign that they want to make the DS a device for all ages seeing how I can't imagine a 12 yr old calling his friend in Mongolia after playing a game of pokemon rockemon.
OK, for those of us who've never seen a Nokia N-GAGE in action, what is the big lament over? Why the webpage towards eulogizing the whole deal?
With Nintendo's current "only about games" attitude, I highly doubt the DS will be able to be used as a WiFi VoIP phone out of the box. However, that does sound like some killer product that some 3rd party will/could come out with.
I've always thought that wireless connectivity would be the killer app for handheld game consoles. Platforms like the GBA have always had a lot of restrictions - like needing specially-designed link cables, headphones, etc. Now that Nintendo is coming under pressure from products like the N-Gage, it seems that they're finally going to unleash their secret weapon.
I'm just hoping that the DS will have all the appropriate goodies to go with this capability, like wireless multiplayer games, Jabber, maybe even a web browser and media player.
Karma: Segmentation fault (tried to dereference a null post)
because you had to hold it like a taco to talk!
and the games were crap version of GBA games, or PSX games with worse graphics.
I thought the US Gov had to mandate that all VOIP systems are to be tapped when needed? I guess this COULD be used by terrorists according to the patriot act.
Sorry Nintendo, I guess it's game over for all of us.
Life is not for the lazy.
Note to the 98% of the Slashdot populace who does not read the article: Actually, no, in fact, all that Gamestop is reporting is that an analyst named "Boris Markovich" has the THEORY that the Nintendo DS will support voice over IP. There is however no support for this theory whatsoever.
Nintendo representatives have publically stated they think it would be neat if there were a DS web browser that used the DS's built-in wireless ethernet to connect to the internet; however this does not mean that such a browser will ever actually occur, to my knowlege they've said nothing whatsoever about internet voice chat.
Irritable, left-wing and possibly humorous bumper stickers and t-shirts
This certainly could be used in conjunction with network play to be able to trash talk to anyone you're playing though :) "omg u hax tetris!"
Soon we will be back to the 80's brick cell phone.
what this means is that VoIP services which connect to and allow you to place phone calls into the traditional phone network must provide tapping at the point at which the VoIP service links with the traditional phone network. Is this correct?
Studies have shown that there is nothing "older folk" would love more than to wear a battery pack strapped to their arm so they can play ports of PS2 games and listen to their minidisc collections.
The DS, meanwhile, is just a device for playing video games, which as everyone knows are only for children.
I'm getting tired of this 'featuritis' where both Sony and Nintendo are adding features like mad. I just want new portable system to play games, play games wirelessly, and play games over IP via Gameboy Live or PS Live.
looking for mobile voip, i say just go with a ppc with skype mobile. on the other hand, if this thing uses hotspots for phone, it must use hotspots for multiplayer gaming. short term i'm sure it's fun, but really get a computer and go to lan party's!
RArr!
(This would have meant that you would have paid long-distance rates to dial into dial-up ISPs - possibly more as Mom-and-Pop ISPs just wouldn't have the clout to arrange the kind of deals that most long-distance providers work out with the local telephone companies.)
What really got to the telecos was not the idea of computer-to-computer chat, which had been around for some time, but the gateways linking the Internet to the regular telephone exchanges. A lot of people were buying such exchanges, hooking them up, and basically allowing any Internet user (for a fee the guy with the exchange could set) to dial ANYONE in the local calling area of that gateway.
I'm going to predict that Nintendo geeks'll have similar gateways rigged up (with the cries and screams of telecos & Nintendo ringing in their ears) within a year. It's just a case of breaking the protocol and writing a simple translator for one of the myriad of modular gateways that now exist.
With British Telecom switching to a pure IP-based telephone network (they're abandoning the dedicated switched-circuit approach completely), and where Nintendo's encumbering licenses are largely considered invalid (there are independent software developers for Nintendo in the UK, and Nintendo has failed in efforts to stop them), I am going to predict that the UK will have the greatest interest in such a gateway and will likely see some of the earliest attempts at one.
The US, with its DMCA and other assorted copyright extensions, is simply not friendly to that kind of R&D. The risks are high and the benefits are low.
India and China have a good tech industry, fewer problems with copyright, etc, but don't really have enough high-speed infrastructure to make VoIP realistic, right now.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
God, Keep it Simple Stupid. If you wanna shock the game crowd.... Big one here... Give them eye candy, not a new phone.
So can people call me through VoIP as well, if I am at home using my DS or at a hotspot somewhere looking like a dork playing games? Will I be able to have it ring me while in the middle of a lonely single player game of pacman, when one of my buddies wants to get his ass kicked in mario party or whatever multiplayer game?
Let's hope that Nintendo does the "phone thing" better than N-Gage did the "game thing". I wonder if those two markets of portable electronics are ready to merge just yet. Maybe we're close...
Now the Govt. can request that they be able to wiretap your new DS and the price will jump.
) Human Kind Vs Human Creation
) It'd be interesting to see how many humans would survive to serve us.
Long ago I worked for a company that made headsets. Everone had one as well. We used to network game over an internal confrence call. Even if its just for communications its still a fun toy.
Hopefully this doesn't look anything like the last Nintendo headset I owned. Otherwise I doubt that I "won't look ridiculous."
Anyhow, the DS pics show the microphone (built in) is just under the bottom screen, close to the directional pad. Speakers are next to the top screen.
Yes, you will need a headset.
The DS is shaping up to be pretty rocking. I'm waiting for some word on possible web browsers / IM clients, which would rock pretty hard. Will it run Linux?
SAILING MISHAP
"built-in wireless 802.11b networking"
How long do you think it will take for people to start wardriving with one of these. Can you say Warboy?
What's the big deal? Free box-to-box VOIP is kinda old news at this point.
Skype.com is the only cross platform solution I'm aware of. Free for skype-to-skype PC calls. Also has an IM client built in.
They also sell "phone cards" to dial POTS from your PC. The gui has a typical touchpad interface.
They don't have POTS-to-skype yet, which needs some type of "DYN-dns" infrastructure underneath, but they are planning on offering this add-on for some monthly cost later on.
emacs so we can have a kitchen sink too.
"There's also mention of a headset, so you won't look ridiculous..."
I'm no fashion guru, but I can tell you that people talking using a headset most certainly do look ridiculous. It didn't look cool in the 80's. It doesnt look cool now.
Since when did looking ridiculous matter to the sorts of people who use this kind of thing?
Actually though this sounds like a really sweet product...
Intolerance for ambiguity is the mark of the authoritarian personality.
Smart move Nintendo. Use a proven technology, and enable better GAMING experience.
Did anyone really think that this will be done just so we can make free calls in hotspots?
1. Nintendo, gaming, voice chat... rings a bell? The main application will probably be to connect to other unites so people can talk to each other while they play.
2. VOIP to any number will require a gateway to the POTS which costs $$$ (where Vonage makes their money on...).
Nevertheless - pretty slick!
get a free ipod! This really works...
obviously not!
No mention of Xbox Live's chat here? Am I missing something?
I'm not sure how voice recognition would work in a game scenario, though.
Nintendo is making a wi-fi phone? This from the same company that said "Our customers are not interested in online gaming." I guess they think we want to talk to each other instead of playing against each other. Also this could open up some very interesting possibilitys with the system being able to connect to a wi-fi network. I guess this means we're going to have to buy firewalls for our Gameboys.
Yes, but more people using Voip, will mean fewer people using POTS. Major phone companies are gearing up(or have geared up) to offer those services.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
If you consider the GBA a console, which it really is, the gba is the best selling console ever. Constant renovation and competition is what pushes this company. Nintendo started out making arcade games and after the mario brothers hit they kept that same character, in fact almost any game with him in it goes gold. With n-gage starting to appeal to the masses it's kinda common sense that nintendo would have to redesign in product to keep ahead. Nintendo is actually a great company and I'm glad that they are testing new and cool waters.
The headset is encouraging.
Holding a 2.4GHz emitter against the side of your skull does not sound like a good idea.
"this may only allow unit-to-unit conversations, not VoIP calls to the regular telephone network."
;-)
If it's technically possible, I'm sure there will be "solutions" to circumvent this limitation.
Previous examples of voice recognition in a video game can be seen in the Dreamcast's Seaman, which I have heard nothing but excellent things about, and in the N64's "Hey You Pikachu", which I have heard nothing at all about.
A somewhat more directly relevant example of how we might see voice recognition used in the DS might perhaps be teased from the news about Nintendo's upcoming Mario Party 6, which will contain about eighty-something multiplayer minigames, all entirely based around the useage of a microphone peripheral that will come with the game, and some of which will incorporate voice recognition.
Irritable, left-wing and possibly humorous bumper stickers and t-shirts
Lets start taking bets on how long it will take to hack up a ptsn gateway. This migtht force private VOIP into critical mass?
"Gamespot is reporting that the Nintendo DS will use "built-in wireless 802.11b networking capabilities to offer voice-over-IP chat--in effect, allowing gamers to use the DS to make free phone calls at wireless network hotspots."
Ok, that's nifty, but nifty doesn't sell consoles or handhelds. I'd wager that 80% (conservatively) of their buyers could care less, especially when Nintendo's target audience has tradionally been pre-teens. Same with the second touch screen. It's as if they're trying to compensate for their lack of innovation and poor market performance lately with nifty features, without realizing their impact on sales will be negilable in lieu of the former and a break from Mario 12.
I'd be more excited if I thought this was actually going to do anything in the course of my regular gaming, but I suspect it'll be more along the lines of gameboy to gamecube connectivity-- Big fat deal. I know some of you will be happy, but most gamers are going to care less unless you see some real application here. That, and I really don't see too many people ditching the cell phones they already have and hunting down a hotspot just to make a free call by dialing down the center with 1-800-leftrightright-downupAB.
With the PSP on the horizon, I smell serious blood in the water because the DS is shaping up to be pretty weak from initial reports.
You need a FREE iPod Nano
Ah yes, there's that good old socialism "Shut up and do what we say, because we want your money for our convenience regardless of your needs."
I ran across a video at the beginning of August (I tried to find it, but no luck) that demo'd a bunch of Nintendo DS software. It was a pretty cool vid, some of the stuff on there was amazing. One of the things they showed was a stylus based IM chat of some sort. One screen had incoming messages, teh stylus screen was for outgoing. The video was kind of neat: "Draw Mario!", and whoever was piloting the thing was drawing Mario for their guest.
Okay, not the most mind blowing thing in the world, but I can see why some would theorize about the DS's capabilities down the road including VOIP. All it takes is for one to make a cartridge for it.
"Derp de derp."
My wife just asked me if we could get a 'web phone'. I showed her the vonage page, she's into it.
So seriously, does the shit actually work or not? I'm in no position to bring home another 3DO or WebTV.
Gameboys are fuckin cool, cooler than slashdot. harder to play at work though. Way better than iPods.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
Not only is the fee about $6 now, but the rural lines were in place well before the Universal Socialism Fee. All it is now is a gravy train for politically connected telecom providers. Previous slashdot discussions have addressed the issue of contractors making insane amounts of money for providing basic internet connections to schools. Schools themselves have pilfered funds to be used for just about anything computer related or not. Besides, if urban residents have to pay a lot more for housing, food, and just about everything else, why shouldn't rural people have to pay more for phone service? When they subsidize my rent, I'll feel right about subsidizing their phones.
wake me when i can get a good viop+wifi celly
zzzz.. *snore*
Why the fuck should I have to pitch in so that some redneck down in Shithole Falls can get 20 miles of phone line pulled/repaired for him.
It would be much more fair if that farmer was burdened with his own damned $15,000, as should most such cases be handled, or if the phone company took this as expense out of their profits.
My point is:
Suppose the average phone company makes $2,000,000 per month off of Shithole Falls [all-inclusive, total profit]. If they have an extra $100,000 from the USF for that month, for just that reason, they can afford to waste $15,000 on the redneck to avoid a DoS scandal, and they have some of it left over for fixing phone lines, etc.
OTOH, if they were not charging the USF, they would still have done neccessary repairs, to avoid losing customers, but would be more wary of spending $15k so that Cottontooth Joe could seduce his 12-year-old cousin in Kentucky. As for expansion, that would as well be better thought-out if it was for their own money.
Wasn't the Famicom billed as a "family computer" complete with keyboard and disk drive? Didn't they sell endless add-on accessories to extend the functionality of the NES? I can even use my Gamecube as a Gameboy if I want to.
Unless you mean that they don't like putting it all in one product because then they can't sell seperate add-ons--in that case, you would be right.
Wow you people really have no idea how the world works, do you? I'm just slightly to the right of Hitler..but this "JoeBob doesn't deserve a phone anyway" attitude is just unbelieveable. So you're saying if Billybob out in the sticks has a heart attack, he shouldn't be able to have a phone to call 911 without paying $15k to pull a line out there? It is a bit socialist, but in this case it worked extremely well--just about everyone in the US has the same access to phone service. By the way, I just checked my Pac Bell bill (I REFUSE to call them SBC), and the actual "universal service" fee was a whopping 84 cents. All the other taxes and crap was 7 or 8 bucks, but the actual universal charge wasn't even a dollar. Shit..what a gravy train that is for those eeeevil telcos. We should just disband them all right this second and run VoIP over 802.11b wireless...then we'd be the communications envy of fourth-world nations the world over.
It's been like this day after day--at least one or two articles posted in which the headline and summary are 100% exagerrated or downright wrong.
I'm still laughing over "MS Says Windows Not Secure Until 2011." Geez.
The article is merely the opinion of an "analyst" guessing that the DS will support VoIP. There is no official confirmation or news.
Well, except on Slashot where it gets reported as such...
I find it interesting that technology is changing at such a fast pace that not even all the lawyers in the world can keep the government up to speed. And honestly, this bothers me.
Such changes in our world will make or break the effectiveness of national security. I can only imagine some form of preemptive laws and agencies put into place to limit our freedoms in the name of national security. If my fears come to pass, I'm afraid terrorism has won the war.
Then again, I have heard voices in the wind (sort of speak) about a new Patriot Act II...
Life is not for the lazy.
It's so obvious you don't own one. a) 8cm discs ARE a standard size! b) GC discs DO NOT spin in the opposite direction, they go clockwise like everything else*. * not tested in southern hemisphere
What!?!? No side talking?!?!
The big deal is that (if it's true) half the kids in your street are going to have this, and when they do they wil laugh at the idea of paying for mobile phone calls. I know lots of children who spend MOST of their pocket money on phone calls at the moment (we don't have free local calls here in Britain).
I think it might be the biggest news story this year.
Nintendo have historically had few serious competitors in he mobile gaming market, and they got off very lightly against the N-Gage, but they know that given time, one of the mobile phone companies will build a a device that rivals their handhelds.
So what do they do? They knock out the whole pricing structure that mobile phones work on. Mobile phone companies work on a 'discount the phones to hell, then rip off people for the calls' basis, which will collapse if people have a dfferent way of making free calls.
If half the people I know have a DS, and I can call them for free, it's worth me getting one *just to save money on calls*.
If Nintendo can pull this off, they could kill the entire mobile phone industry stone dead.
A pizza of radius z and thickness a has a volume of pi z z a
Try going to another country..Europe, Japan, etc...their phone system is so useless they have to use cell phones for everything.
Troll. Many european countries have vastly superior phone systems compared to the US. You might want to read up on a little company called Ericsson, what they've done, which country they're from etc.
That said, the former socialist monopoly of Televerket/Telia in Sweden is the reason why that's so.
it's in my head
It also works with LCD's!
e r=8353569
http://www.freeflatscreens.com/default.aspx?refer
Best place to go ask that would be over at DSLreports.com aka BroadbandReports. The have specialists over in their forums who can answer most questions regarding almost all VoIP providers. Only thing i can remember about reading up on Vonage is that some people have had problems with their tech support/billing.
I'm currently trying to get SpeakEasy's ONELink DSL service where Covad has their own phone line run to your house to provide DRY pair DSL. You don't have to pay for that line (its inclusive in the $55.95 monthly DSL price) and you can get VoIP on it and drop your POTS line. If i can get the OneLink I am considering doing this.
You can also connect more than one phone to the VoIP blackbox, in fact it can be wired into your homes phone system if you are savvy enough. It does have limitations on how many phones can be hooked up and have ringers on, too many and none of the phones will ring. But if you have one of those cordless base stations that can handle several handsets then you are golden.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
...the pictures in the Side Talking website the poster linked to is bloody hilarious.
... when you obviously hate /. so much? You endlessly harp on how bad a job the editors do, you hate the stories that get posted, you hate the users...
Why are you here, other than to troll?
Man... Captain N must be stoked. Mother Brain is so going down.
Yeah. Just like YOU are probably a Sony fan boy.
I find it funny how all the 12 to 17 year old KIDS seem to hate Nintendo because they think it's for KIDS? Some how playing the same game on a PS2 makes them an adult. Duh. I'm sure Zelda was designed for 8 year olds. Yeah, that's it.
As for the adults who bash Nintendo for that reason? I find that funny as well. They have no problem at all eating at McDonalds or maybe watching some Anime/Cartoons and playing video games all day long. LOL what a joke.
If you ask MOST of the worlds population I bet they would say video games in general ARE for kids.
game yet announced for the DS will incorporate multiplayer via wireless ethernet. This is hardly "nifty". This is going to be the chief selling point of the console.
... huh?
Meanwhile a number of interesting new game concepts have been proposed centering around the touch screen, and it appears developers will be making good use of it.
I'm a bit perplexed by your statement, which seems to be saying that instead of innovating, Nintendo will be introducing new features.
A feature like this on any one of them mobile phones would SELL. Guarentied. I'd be a buyer. Please. Make one.
:P Its MINE!
For the pattent, contact me
Muhahahahahaaaaah...
Hivemind harvest in progress..
Fucking moron.
Ooo, it's easy to flame as an AC isn't it? It's people like you that give Slashdot a bad name. There are y'know polite ways to tell someone they've made a mistake, rather than calling them a "fucking moron".
Until someone offers a free server and someone hacks the software?
/.
Who cares what the dummies get the goods will be on